The

publication To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Conve ...

of the ''London

Encyclopaedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

,'' or ''Universal Dictionary of Science, Art, Literature and Practical Mechanics: comprising a Popular View of the Present State of Knowledge'' was begun by

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based

bookseller Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librari ...

and publisher

Thomas Tegg Thomas Tegg (1776–1845) was a British bookseller and publisher. Early life Tegg was the son of a grocer, born at Wimbledon, Surrey, on 4 March 1776, and was left an orphan at the age of five. He was sent to a boarding school at Galashiels in Se ...

in 1825. It may be found in two original editions of 22 volumes, published 1829 and 1839, as well as more recent

reprint A reprint is a re-publication of material that has already been previously published. The term ''reprint'' is used with slightly different meanings in several fields. Academic publishing In academic publishing, offprints, sometimes also known a ...

s. Thomas Tegg describes the project as follows in The Publisher's Address placed into another of his publications in 1828:David Hume, Tobias George Smollett, William Jone
''The History of England: from the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Death of George the Third''
(1828)

On the appearance of the Seventh Edition of Part the First of the ''LONDON ENCYCLOPÆDIA'', the
Proprietor Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...
feels it incumbent upon him to offer his grateful acknowledgments to the Public, for the unexampled success which his arduous undertaking has hitherto experienced... This most welcome and efficient testimony of public favour he chiefly attributes to the Plan of the Work;—its adaptation in form, in substance, and in price, to the largest portion of the reading community... Thus, instead of appropriating the present profits of the undertaking, he has invariably thrown them back upon the work itself; and he trusts, improvement in the variety, the originality, and the accuracy of the articles in each department is visible to every reader. The contributors possess the highest qualifications for the respective tasks assigned to them; their number has been augmented, and their remuneration increased. ...in all the ''essential'' requisites of
science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
,
literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
, and good writing, the ''LONDON ENCYCLOPÆDIA'' is not inferior to any of its predecessors or contemporaries, while it combines in every branch all the improvements which are to be derived from its being the last in order of time.

Now that the work is thus far advanced, and its publication has been punctual and regular, the Proprietor trusts that those who hesitated to become purchasers, lest the speculation should fail, will no longer apprehend a result, to avert which, were it necessary, he would readily sacrifice all the property he possesses in the world. He has embarked in the undertaking, and the arrangements for its completion are as perfect and as stable as any thing which man can devise or accomplish.

There are still very large classes of the community to whom the ''LONDON ENCYCLOPÆDIA'' is unknown; they are not aware probably of its nature and object—that with a cheapness, which, but for the extensiveness of its sale, would injure the Publisher, it combines all that is ''essential'' and really important in works of three times its magnitude and price; and that it may be universally acceptable,—in all the great debatable points, which belong not properly to knowledge, because the opinions of the wisest and the best of men are at variance upon them, the
Editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
has taken the utmost care to avoid exciting either
political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
or
religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...
animosities. The object of the work is to give information on all subjects, but not to play the
advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...
or special pleader with regard to any. Churchmen and
Dissenter A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, and ...
s of all
sect A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that b ...
s and classes may here learn what each other think; but they will not find the ''LONDON ENCYCLOPÆDIA'' an arsenal, furnishing them with weapons to carry on either an offensive or a defensive war.

...Society is now so far advanced, that the people must be supplied with mental resources: let them have science without
scepticism Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...
, literature without
irreligion Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and a ...
, and intellectual enjoyment without the sacrifice of
moral principle Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...
.

References

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